Interview marketing involves using interviews with top people in an organization, and then using those interviews to market the organization, its products, and services.
Any interview used for marketing purposes, whether on video, live, or for a podcast, needs ample preparation. This will make the discussion more interesting, more informative, and certainly more enjoyable for the viewer or listener. Although I am just beginning my work as an interviewer, I have already learned several tips that I would like to share with you.
Among the things I have learned about interview marketing are the following:
- Know as much about the individual being interviewed as possible.
Ask them to send you some background info about themselves, even a resume. Check them out on LinkedIn. Some people have their own personal website or even a Wikipedia page. This can be an excellent source of useful information. - Prepare a bio for the interviewee.
This will be part of your introduction. Include information about where they work, their major accomplishments, and any causes they believe in, if that will be part of the discussion. It should be short, about a paragraph or two, and tie it in with the topic to be discussed. Always review the bio with your guest. They may want to make some changes. - Next, and very importantly, review the questions you plan to ask the guest before the interview.
Although one of the goals is to make the interview conversational and look spontaneous, you don’t want to discuss anything “out of left field,” or that has not been prepared beforehand. Once, I was interviewing a man in the corporate security industry. The conversation was going beautifully. But then I asked him a question he was not prepared for. It was a bit off course from the topic, but still pertinent. He handled it perfectly. It was not until after the interview that he told me I “threw him” a bit with the question. You don’t want this ever to happen. Stick to the prepared questions. - As to the type of questions to ask, avoid questions that can be answered with short answers or a “yes” or a “no.”
Focus on open-ended questions, “why and how” questions. These types of questions allow your guest to share their ideas and thoughts. - When not speaking, turn your microphone off.
Here’s the problem. When conversing with someone, it’s common – even expected – that we will occasionally acknowledge what they are saying as they are saying it. These acknowledgments include things like saying, “Oh, I did not know that” or “That’s interesting,” or might even a sound like an “umm.” While that’s fine in conversation, the same comments can interfere with the guest’s train of thought, and when you play back the interview, these sound like interruptions. Because I have difficulty keeping quiet and not making acknowledgments, I keep the mic off unless I am speaking. - Pre-determine how long the video will be.
Allow two to three minutes per question and answer. That means if the interview is five to seven minutes, you should only ask two or three questions. - Do a short pre-interview.
The goal here is to get accustomed to hearing each other’s voices, check the lighting and backgrounds (essential), make sure the devices are all working correctly, and that the video and audio quality are high. - One more thing to do during the interview, and especially a marketing interview, is to be an active listener.
An active listener not only looks interested in what their guest is discussing – but is interested. This can be conveyed not only through facial expressions but also in your body language. Be aware of this.
Robert Kravitz is president of AlturaSolutions, Which Provides Content Marketing Strategies for the Professional Cleaning Industry. He can be reached at: solutions@alturasolutions.com